The Truth About Dietary Fat
The quick answer: Essential omega-3 fats are vital to your health but just remember you need both short chain (from plants) and long-chain (from fish and animals that eat those plants).
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Thanks for Your Comments
There were four thoughtful comments to last weeks post—three shared information about legumes and one made a plea: “L” said, “Where have you been? You used to write at least once a week . . . I miss your wisdom, please post as often as you used to . . .”
Well, it’s true that I’ve posted less often of late but I’ll make a promise: If readers will comment more (sharing healthy eating ideas), I’ll write more too. That’s my promise—it’s a win-win. It’s interesting that while comments have declined, readership continues to grow. So thanks, everyone, for making this the premier Word of Wisdom site. Please note that it’s also non-commercial—no ads.
Meat and Fat
Meat and healthy fats are separate themes in our 52 Healthy Changes, but there is an intersection—modern meat contains significant fat. So if you eat meat “sparingly,” you’ll likely consume less fat. There are lots of reasons to eat meat sparingly—some sources say that over 90% of the pollutants in our diet come from meat! So “sparingly” is good, but choose meat from healthy—meaning "pastured"—animals. Pastured meat has a lower fat content but more long-chain omega-3 fats as well as more vitamins.
In the last generation official sources made war on fat—fat came to be bad, a cause of heart disease. That was a big mistake--dietary fat doesn't cause heart disease. We need fat, in moderation. Fat is critical to our bodies; 60% of your brain is fat and ¼ of it is long-chain omega-3. So brain health depends on eating longer omega-3 fats.
It’s confusing, long-chain and short-chain, but here’s the thing to remember:
- Short-chain omega-3 fats: Plants, especially the green plants that cover the earth, produce these fats. Green organisms in our oceans are another big source.
- Long-chain omega-3 fats: Animals (and fish) eat those plants and convert the short-chain omega-3 fats to the long chain form. The two most critical are known by initials—EPA and DHA.
To promote intake of healthy fats, Healthy Change #35 says: “Include long-chain omega-3 in your meals most days.” So besides eating meat sparingly, it’s critical to eat the right meat products. In the picture above sources of long-chain omega-3 fats are included:
- Cold-water fish (shrimp, but add salmon, sardines, and trout also),
- Eggs (especially from pastured chickens that get lots of sunshine, greens, and bugs to eat) were discussed here.
We should also add pastured meats as a 3rd source. I say “pastured” because when an animal is on the high grain diet used in feedlots, their omega-3 fat content steadily decreases and omega-6 increases. We need both but the ratio in pastured animals is healthier than in feedlot meat. That’s one reason to include lamb and buffalo meat on your menu—these are generally pastured and not taken to feed lots.
Please comment: How do you include the long chain omega-3 fats in your diet? Have a recipe to share? Later we’ll post the recipe for Skip’s Blackened Salmon.
Monday, October 21, 2013 at 2:41PM | by Skip Hellewell | 14 Comments | 22 References | Share Article | Email Article
Reader Comments (14)
I am so excited to see this post. Despite conscious choices to be "healthy" and active since my teens, in recent years I developed extreme allergies and asthma. In my pursuit for renewed health, I have uncovered some food sensitivities. I have been torn between which sources to rely on for health, as there are extremes from no meat, low-fat to no grains. I appreciate this sound information! Right now, in my healing, I have seen benefit from whole foods: produce, lessening my grains, clean sources of meat and healthy fats. I am still fine tuning what works and posts such as these help my understanding greatly!!
Green smoothies help us a lot. Our favorite ingredients are pineapple and limes. Good fillers are apples, pears, oranges, and peaches. Always include ice, and a good amount spinach of course.
We also use a waffle recipe that has ground flax seeds.
http://hutchingsrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/12/pancakes-and-wafflesnow-healthier.html?m=0
I've had mixed results adding ground flax to bread. Sometimes it seems to make it go rancid after 1 week.
Dark leafy greens are a must in our household. I don't eat meat often but my partner does. We are very conscious to eat sustainably and seasonably, too.
I digest gluten or corn well, but I've recently come to love blanched collards as substitutes for wraps. I'm a fan of loading them with some sort of fish, spread and lots of other colorful vegetables.
As a side note, this blog has been a resource for me for as long as I've know it's been around (if that makes any sense). You're wisdom and clear explanation are refreshing in a world of diluted or convoluted health/wellness/nutrition messages.
I've always believed in the Word of Wisdom but haven't always followed it. Your blog is my favorite source for current information and inspiration. It's helped me to know how to implement the do's. I've really cut out my meats only having fish or chicken a couple of times a week. I've learned to love kale and spinach and add vegetable proteins to my diet. Thank you so much for your time and effort in helping all of us. We need it!
Hi Hikki--I think you're on the right track, moving towards seasonal whole foods that work best for your body. It's a journey of wisdom gained. Best to you.
Hello Jodi--We're going to try your green smoothie with limes. We have a big lime tree and so many go wasted. Regarding ground flax seed it breads, I haven't had any success trying it with banana nut bread--don't get the right texture. What works best is to grind it fresh in the morning and mix it with oatmeal and fruit.
Courtney--thanks for the kind words. We're with you on the dark leafy greens. It's ironic that we're deficient in omega-3 in the U.S. because it's the most plentiful fat, due to all the green growing on our planet.
Thanks Noelle, for your kind words. The Beautiful Wife agrees with you; she has been buying the Sweet Kale vegetable salad kit at Costco. It keeps us for a week of healthy salads (not every night) and is easy to use.
Thanks all for your excellent comments. You get it.
Chia seeds are a great source of omega-3s. I like to make overnight oats with chia seeds. My kids love them! I use oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, cocoa powder, a banana, milk, vanilla, and a bit of honey or maple syrup (usually a bit more than the recipe has listed). I can just put it all together at night and put it in the fridge. In the morning, the kids can serve themselves! The recipe is here- http://rabbitfoodformybunnyteeth.com/chocolate-cake-batter-overnight-oats/
Chia seeds can also be sprinkled on salads, granola, or regular oatmeal. They don't have to be ground up like flax seeds to get the benefits, either.
Regarding the difficulty baking with ground flax seeds...one of our children has an egg allergy. We use flax meal as an egg substitute in most everything. We mix 1 Tbs. of flax meal with 3 Tbs. of water in a small bowl. As the flax meal absorbs the water, it takes on an "eggy" texture. Let it sit for a minute or two and give it a stir. We've substituted up to 3 eggs with the flax seed meal in a recipe and all of our baked goods turn out great. Maybe try it as an egg substitute instead of adding it to a recipe straight.
I love your blog. Thank you for continuing it. I understand how you feel about comments. I had a blog and no one ever commented. That isn't why I stopped writing on it ( I got called as relief society president), but it sure was disheartening. I will try to comment as often as I can. Thank you.
Thank you for your timely article. One of my grandchildren is a late talker. He is 27 months and says 7 to 10 works and only parrots them. I have been reading up on some explanations and one is apraxia of speech. There is therapy for it but my daughter is not ready to go that route yet. They are a miltary family with a move soon to come again. Starting something new then changing again would be tough. It is thought to be in the "planning" area of the childs brain, which is fueled by oils; omega threes. He lives in a family that is mostly vegan with only some cheese or yogurt occasionally. My daughter (his mom) has been sending me research she is doing on healthy oils so I forwarded your information to her.
Thank you for your service
PS I liked your story on grandchildren care; I read it while I was caring for my 2 grandchildren (25 months and 4 months for 10 weeks while their mom finshed up her student teaching and dad was doing miltary training. I was more tired then I have ever been ; ) So glad it isn't just me!!!
I married into a hunting family and have gotten to really love wild game, mainly elk, deer and buffalo. It's also really nice that I can get really healthy, natural meat for free!
I so enjoy your blog. I can't wait for your Blackened Salmon recipe. Please...any other fish recipes you may have would be greatly appreciated!
Great post, thank you!!!
Thank you for your blog, and for introducing me to the Word of Wisdom. From your discussion of it, I've learned that it outlines a sensible way of life for all of us. I found Word of Wisdom Living through inchmark. I surely hope that Brooke will resume blogging sometime soon. In the meantime, I'll continue to be grateful for your posts and sound advice.
Thank you so much for this blog! I've set myself a 100-day goal to exercise, no sugar, and eat more in line with the WoW, which is how I came across your blog- I was looking for implementation ideas. I've shared a lot of this with my children, and encouraged them to read it all. Thanks again!!